E-business value web

ABSTRACT

A method and system is provided to manage and track changes in enterprise architectures. The invention provides a hierarchical visual management tool to manage and update relational information within an enterprise in a controlled fashion. The relationship may be maintained in a database and displayed via graphical user interface. Enterprise assets are categorized into such categories as goals, customer values or requirements, capabilities, resources, and the like. A hierarchy is constructed so that relationships between these various categories are identified and captured using the invention. Weights may be assigned to each element of the categories so that any proposed change to an enterprise architecture may be viewed so that a value can be ascertained and compared between other values of other proposed changes. In this manner, tracking and management of evolutionary changes to an architecture may be accomplished using relational information.

This invention was made with government support under the terms ofcontract number TCS0994 awarded by the Department of Defense. Thegovernment has certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to an enterprise management supportsystem and, more particularly, to a decision-making system to evaluateenterprise decisions.

2. Background Description

In the decision making process for evolutionary changes andmodifications to an enterprise, few tools and automation capabilitiesexist to quantify the enterprise elements (including software andhardware system functionality, business processes and workforcecapabilities) of evolutionary changes. The ability to identify andmonitor these elements provides an organization an overview of theirtotal capabilities and supporting resources; in effect, it defines anorganization's business model. Through the linkage of the business modelto the organization's vision, mission and goals, an organization candraw a strategic linkage from what they are chartered to do, right downto the people, process and technology resources that they need to haveto complete their mission.

Currently, if an organization would like to determine whether astrategic return on investment resides in a selected solutionalternative, information from a number of sources would have to begathered, accuracy determined, and then a cost/benefit analysisperformed. There is currently no known application that can align andtrack capabilities and resources across an entire organization in thisfashion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the invention, a method is provided for determining avalue provided by an enhancement to an enterprise architecture. Themethod includes the steps of defining at least one customer requirementfor the enhancement, identifying at least one capability to provide theenhancement to the enterprise architecture, estimating at least one of arevenue increase and a cost saving associated with the at least onecapability, and determining a value provided by the at least onecapability based upon an implementation cost and the at least one of therevenue increase and the cost saving.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for providing a service fortracking and managing an evolutionary change to an enterprise isprovided. The method includes the steps of establishing at least onegoal for establishing an endpoint of the evolutionary change,associating one or more values that define requirements of theevolutionary change with the at last one goal, affiliating with the oneor more values one or more strategic capabilities that representfunctions that must be present to support the one or more values.Further included is the step of identifying one or more resources thatrepresent enterprise components with the one or more strategiccapabilities, and hierarchically maintaining relationships of the atleast one goal, the one or more values, the one or more strategiccapabilities and the one or more resources.

In another aspect of the invention a method for tracking and managingchanges is provided. The method includes the steps of identifying a newenterprise asset to an enterprise architecture, identifying one or moredefined capabilities associated with the new enterprise asset, andidentifying one or more new resources that satisfy the one or moredefined capabilities. Further included are the steps of implementing theone or more defined capabilities and one or more new resources, andtracking the one or more defined capabilities and one or more newresources based on assigned performance based metrics.

In another aspect of the invention, a system for determining a valueprovided by an enhancement to an enterprise architecture is provided.The system includes a component to define at least one customerrequirement for the enhancement, a component to identify at least onecapability to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture, acomponent to estimate at least one of a revenue increase and a costsaving associated with the at least one capability, and a component todetermine a value provided by the at least one capability based upon theimplementation cost and the at least one of a revenue increase and thecost saving.

In another aspect of the invention, a system for providing a service fortracking and managing an evolutionary change to an enterprise isprovided. The system includes a component to establish at least one goalfor establishing an endpoint of the evolutionary change, a component toassociate one or more values that define requirements of theevolutionary change with the at last one goal, a component to affiliatewith the one or more values and one or more strategic capabilities thatrepresent functions that must be present to support the one or morevalues. Further included is a component to identify one or moreresources that represent enterprise components with the one or morestrategic capabilities, wherein the relationship of the at least onegoal, the one or more values, the one or more strategic capabilities andthe one or more resources are hierarchically maintained to providetracking and managing capabilities of the evolutionary change.

In another aspect of the invention, a computer program product isprovided comprising a computer usable medium having readable programcode embodied in the medium and includes a first computer code to defineat least one customer requirement for the enhancement, a second computercode to identify at least one capability to provide the enhancement tothe enterprise architecture, a third computer code to estimate at leastone of a revenue increase and a cost saving associated with the at leastone capability, and a fourth computer code to determine a value providedby the at least one capability based upon the implementation cost andthe at least one of a revenue increase and the cost saving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be betterunderstood from the following detailed description of embodiments of theinvention with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram showing the relational components ofthe invention;

FIGS. 2A-2D show embodiments of a graphical user interface, according tothe invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing steps of an embodiment for using theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing steps of an embodiment for using theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing steps of an embodiment for using theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to an e-Business Value Web (eBVW). Generally,the invention provides a hierarchical visual management tool to manageand update relational information within an enterprise in a controlledfashion. The relationship of the information is maintained in a databaseas additions and modifications are made so that the hierarchicalrelationship is accurately maintained at each level. The relationalinformation may be used to manage and evaluate an evolutionary change tothe enterprise. The evolutionary change may include any change inenterprise operation or an enterprise architecture and may include oneor more of its products.

The invention includes a web application management tool that providesfor illustrating and quantifying the value of transforming an enterprisebusiness model from its current “as-is” state to a proposed “to-be”business model. Or, said differently, from one state to another state.Alternative transformation quantifications, i.e., alternative “to be”models, may be projected for comparison. The invention provides a stablebusiness model that identifies, with text and graphics via a front endGUI, the value of one or more proposed solutions, the capabilities thetransformed “to be” enterprise will deliver, and the resources tosupport those capabilities.

The eBVW acts as a robust management and decision support system thatprovides a “view” of transformation potential. This application tracksthe alignment of the current operational environment with alternativesthat provide the best value for the customer organization and customerbase. The eBVW may present a solution to integrating the people, processand technology resources of the organization with the current and futurebusiness strategies.

The invention further provides a decision making tool to help anorganization focus its efforts on issues that will directly affect thecompletion of its mission via a streamlined process by capturing anddisplaying all of the current resources that an organization has and howthey relate to the organization's mission, in a near real-time fashion.The eBVW maintains the relationships between an organization's value toits customers, the capabilities the organization has to support itsvalues, and the resources that provide those capabilities. In thismanner, an organization can directly track which resources (e.g.,people, process, or technology) directly support specific capabilitiesto provide the customer with a unique value.

Value Web Constructs

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram showing the relational components ofthe invention, generally denoted as reference numeral 100 and includesthe components in the Value Web oval. The invention partitionsinformation relevant to enterprise decision making for evolutionaryenhancements by creating categories of information and relating thesecategories to one another by a methodical construction and providing anautomated system to manage these categories of information.

The hierarchical relational components of the value tree illustrated inFIG. 1 includes a depiction of one Goal N 110 and associatedhierarchical information (e.g., Value Element 120, Strategic Capability130, Resources 140, etc.). It should be understood that the Goal andassociated information is one illustrative example implementing theinvention, and that any number of Goals and associated hierarchicalinformation may be provided by the invention. For each Goal N 110, oneor more lower layers of the hierarchy may be present as necessary. TheValue Web tree of FIG. 1 includes the following, for illustration:

Mission

The Mission (not shown) of the organization is the definition of whatthe organization is striving for currently. Both the vision and themission are defined and validated through traditional methods ofstrategic planning within the organization. An example of a mission is:To provide direct support for our customers in their business processes.

Goals

A Goal 110 includes the Corporate Directive derived from either aMission statement or a Strategic Plan and generally provides andestablishes a final end point of an enterprise change. They tend to be afurther decomposition of the mission of the organization. There may beany number of Goals (1 to N) constructed. An example of a Goal is: Ourworkforce will consist of the premier e-Business consultants in theindustry.

Customer Values

The Customer Values 120 (Value) represents the requirements, wants andneeds that the enterprise will bring to the stakeholders. A CustomerValue is typically identified by an enterprise customer or by theenterprise itself. A Goal may have any number of Value elements (1 to N)defined or identified and associated with the Goal. Here there may be amany-to-many relationship between the Customer Values and the Goals. Inother words, there are many Customer Values per Goal and Customer Valuescould belong to multiple Goals. An example of a Customer Value is:Provide time savings for procurement through web-based transactions.

Strategic Capabilities

The Strategic Capabilities 130 (Capabilities or Capability enablers)contained in the Value Web represent critical functions that theorganization must be capable of doing well to insure the delivery of theideal, defined Customer Values (targeted customer wants/needs), andfulfilling its own strategic Goals. A Customer Value 120 may include orhave affiliated any number of Strategic Capabilities (1 to N), and havea many-to-many relationship with the Customer values. An example of astrategic capability is: A web portal that provides one-stop shoppingfor all of an organization's procurement.

Operational Resources

The Operational Resources 140 (Resources) document the physicalcomponents that must be present to enable the Capabilities to deliverthe value expressed in the Value Elements 120. The StrategicCapabilities 130 are supported by one or more Operational Resources 140,and include categories of enterprise components, for example, businessprocesses, personnel skills/competencies, workforce skills, physicalentities, information technology or system components, and data,knowledge or information. A Strategic Capability 130 may include anynumber of Operational Resources (1 to N) 140 and likewise has amany-to-many relationship with the Strategic Capabilities 130. Anexample of an operational resource is: A specific type of web-server torun the internet portal.

Value Web Integration Points with Life Cycle Applications

The invention provides interfacing and insertion of other life cyclesupport information that may exist in an enterprise into the enterprisebusiness model. These include the following as further depicted in FIG.1.

Business Model Vision

The Value Web provides the physical and relational depiction of anorganization's Business Model Vision 150. Traditionally, a businessmodel depicts the company's vision, mission and goals, and how it plansto operate in its market environment. It is often enough to provideguidance for analysis and alignment of any functional area of a company,including, for example, information technology (I/T), and to provideprioritization criteria for initiatives, programs, projects and evenmodules of a technology package. This is because good vision, mission,goal statements usually identify a future view, a description of typesof offerings and customers, and the means to achieve the desiredoutcome.

In practice, value propositions, required capabilities and key resourcesto enable a capability are replacing the use of traditional strategicconcepts of Critical Success Factors and Distinctive Competencies. Withthis in view, the required capabilities, goals and customer values fromthe Business Model are downloaded to the Value Web database and thenaccessed during the life cycle via the Value Web application.

Strategic Plans

The Goals 110 are captured from the organization's Strategic plans 160which typically are detailed documented plans that describe the actionsof an organization in a current or future period to achieve its businessobjectives, and are defined in the Value Web database, or linked to thedatabase, which can then be accessed via the Value Web application. If anew goal is added then appropriate Value Web Customer Values,Capabilities 130 and Resources 140 must also be in place to support thenew goal. If the new goal does not have the strategic eBVW elementssupporting it, then the application will prompt the user to identify thecorresponding business processes, workforce skills or technologies. TheeBVW will also prompt the user to validate the realignment or deletionof the values, capabilities, and resources when a goal is removed.

Requirements

The Requirements 175 are defined as the customer's wants and needs whichare tied directly to the Strategic Capabilities 130 of the eBVW. Thesesystem, process or product/service requirements must be supported by atleast one or more Strategic Capability 130. If a client formally gathersand maintains customer requests/requirements in another automatedsystem, these requirements can be uploaded/downloaded (or entered) intothe eBVW database and then accessed during the life cycle via the eBVWapplication.

Operational Model

The Operational Model 180 depicts the physical layout of the current “asis” and “to be” enterprise architecture. Each technology, process, orskill enabler can be traced back to a specific physical node or element,which gives the organizational executives (CEO, CIO, CFO) the ability totrack functionality and flag specific capabilities that might not haveadequate support.

Functional Model

The Functional Model 185 depicts the functions of the current and “tobe” enterprise operations, skills, and architecture. Each Resource 140can be traced back to a specific functional element, which then can bematched to specific requirements.

Component Model

The Component Model 190 depicts the functional components of the currentand “to be” enterprise architecture. Each resource can be traced back toa specific component element, which then can be matched to specificrequirements.

Business Processes

The Business Processes 165 are defined/known methods and procedures inthe enterprise for carrying out its strategic plans and operations. Acomplete inventory of the “as is” processes and “to be” processes aremaintained in the application as Operational Resources 140. These aredirectly tied to a specific Strategic Capability 130, or multipleStrategic Capabilities 130. Managers can view a Strategic Capability 130and then see which processes support it, or what process changes areneeded to support it. Process Measurements from external processmodeling tools can be captured and linked to the eBVW database so thatprocess performance can be accessed during the life cycle via the eBVWapplication. New processes may come into being through normal course ofbusiness operations and often impact future planning of the enterprise.

Transition Plan

The Transition Plan 155 is a defined overall approach in theorganization to be taken to implement a new capability or enhancement.eBVW supports more complete and accurate planning for improvements ornew capabilities because it clearly identifies all existing (“as-is”)processes, systems, and skills that support a current capability andthose required to achieve the future state. Transitioning andImplementation Plans define the overall approach that an organizationwill take to implement a new capability or enhance performance againstan existing capability. Each Strategic Capability defined within atransition plan must also have a supporting capability on the eBVW.

Lifecycle Costing

Lifecycle Costing 195 typically includes costs/expenses for clientlabor, consulting, training, hardware and infrastructure, hardwaremaintenance, software licensing, software maintenance, and postimplementation components. Each cost element can be traced to one ormore Strategic Capability 130 of the eBVW. This enables BusinessManagers to project the high-level summary of “hard” or quantifiablebenefits such as total project benefits ($), total project expenditures($), internal rate of return (%), net present value ($) and discountedpayback period (years). Lifecycle costs can be downloaded to the eBVWdatabase and then accessed during the lifecycle via the eBVWapplication. Alternative decisions may be made base on the costing.

Business Case

The Business Case 170 documents and quantifies the benefits, costs,schedules and assumptions required to justify the implementation of theTransformation project recommendations. The eBVW plays a key role in thedevelopment of the Business Case 170 by giving the designer a tool inwhich he/she can access multiple key elements needed in creating theBusiness Case 170.

Using e-Business Value Web (eBVW)

eBVW provides a management tool to support the decisions of corporateand mission operations and provides the ability to track the enterprisecapabilities that are required to satisfy the customer's values inalignment with the organization's goals. However, in order for the eBVWto provide flexible practical utility, it is possible to assign weightsto the eBVW's different components to assign a relative priority amongthe components. Through the weighting and prioritization of elements,the capabilities of precedence can be assigned higher weights, thusbeing given consideration before less value-adding capabilities. Some ofthe eBVW capabilities support the following generally known businessactivities in a methodical manner:

-   -   Acting as a medium for enterprise discussion and decision.    -   Supporting program management, quality, CMMI (Capability        Maturity Model Integration).    -   Representing dependencies at the enterprise level.    -   Identifying the “critical nodes” where resources are affected.    -   Driving business case analysis and resolution (value, cost, lost        opportunity cost, ROI, etc.) by defining the value contribution.    -   Facilitating comparison of the Transition Plan's deployment of        capabilities vs. the delivery of the projected future        capabilities.    -   Providing a context for investment decisions and technology        forecasting.

Providing detailed information to support more robust TransitionPlanning when a new capability is implemented.

Identifying new or improved customer requirements and customer wants andneeds.

The eBVW serves as an integrating framework for defining and measuringhow current and future capabilities directly support an organization'sVision and Mission. The process of implementing new and innovativecapabilities implies that many various aspects of systems engineeringoften necessitates interaction. The eBVW lies in the middle of thisprocess, as a checkpoint to provide visibility whether the new “to be”capabilities will add value to the overall enterprise and to what degreesuch value is added. The process for incorporating a new capability intothe operational environment is outlined and may include:

-   -   Allocating customer requirements to capabilities in the eBVW.    -   Mapping requirements to capabilities.    -   Identifying new capabilities from changes to goals, business        processes, workforce skills or technology, and drive requirement        changes.    -   Inserting technology which provides resources to meeting        capabilities or may create new capabilities.    -   Decomposing eBVW Customer Mission/goals/requirements into        customer values/capabilities/resources.    -   Defining measures (i.e., metrics to gauge performance) for each        resource's contribution to value.    -   Assigning weights to each node's contribution to its parent        node's value.    -   Estimating qualitative value to the Customer Values for        comparing options may be done.    -   Selecting capabilities for delivery based on optimum value to        the Customer Values and allocated for development.    -   Establishing Capabilities and metrics for measuring        implementation.    -   Modeling and simulation techniques are used to predict measures        expected for each resource.    -   Measuring relative impact by eBVW to estimate value or benefit        against the organizations Strategic objectives.    -   Testing may verify capabilities and requirements are satisfied        and provide collected metrics for modeling and simulation.

FIGS. 2A-2D show embodiments of a graphical user interface (GUI),generally denoted by reference numeral 200, for illustrating theprovisioning of the features of the invention as discussed above. Otherforms of the GUI may exist as one of ordinary skill in the art wouldrecognize. The GUI and supporting operational control programming logicof the invention may be implemented on various computer platforms andmay include various types of database systems to provide for data storeand retrieval associated with the ongoing implementation and use of theinvention. The computer platform may be interconnected with variouslocal area networks (LANS) and the Internet for access and use. The eBVWmay be implemented in any reasonably accommodating computer languagesuch as “C”, “C++”, or Java.

By way of example, the GUI of FIG. 2A depicts the eBVW Home Pageaccording to the invention that provides a convenient way to view theinformation contained and managed by the eVBW database hierarchy byproviding a visual representation of the hierarchy and permittingtraversal of the hierarchy. By way of example, the GUI provides a userwith point and click capability for Goals 1-N (210), which has adefinition field associated with each Goal button 210, and variousdynamic links 220 to various other operational elements of the eBVW suchas, for example, architecture artifacts, DOORS (i.e., a known systemsrequirement management tool), transition plan 155, lifecycle cost,business case 170, and business processes 165. These dynamic links mayalso link any of the life cycle support information (e.g., FIG. 1, items150-195) into the eBVW, as necessary. In embodiments, other dynamiclinks may be presented such as, for example, financial planning tools,forecasting tools, or the like. Also provided is a visual presentationof the associated Vision statement 230 that provides an overall businesspurpose for the goal. An explanatory field 240 is associated with thepoint and click buttons, e.g., 210.

The eBVW Home page also provides for a Traceability Scale 250 that showsthe level of the eBVW currently being viewed within the eBVW hierarchy.The Tracebility Scale shows lineage of relationships of one eBVW elementto others. The Traceability Scale permits the user to move up and downthe hierarchy as desired by selecting the level they want to view, forexample, by point and click for forward and backward functionality. Adownload capability 260 provides for downloading data into otherdatabase formats for maintenance purposes and reports. The components ofthe Value Tree are manipulated by the invention via the GUI andsupporting software logic and are maintained in logical hierarchicalrelationship in a database for updating and monitoring.

FIG. 2B depicts a lower level selection for Goal 1 (i.e., Goal 1 buttonwas selected) and the associated Customer Values 1-N. Each CustomerValue entry has an explanatory field. Similar levels exist for all Goals1-N. The dynamic links 220 are still provided as necessary, but may bedifferent links as necessary. Since Goal 1 was selected from FIG. 2A,the next layer within the eBVW hierarchy associated with Goal 1 is nowdisplayed, in this example, Values 1-N. The Values 1-N each have anassociated text field 240 that defines each Value 1-N. The TraceabilityScale 250 has been updated to reflect that the user is viewing theVALUES level. In this fashion, the hierarchical nature of eBVW isvisually displayed

FIG. 2C depicts another lower level of the eBVW, in particular, forStrategic Capabilities (Capability) 1, i.e., Customer Value (Value 1button selected) 1 was selected on FIG. 2B. The tree structure of theeBVW may be maintained as shown, i.e., Goal 1 and Value 1 along with thetypical other features such as the dynamic links 220. Capabilities 1-Nare shown along associated buttons 210 with associated definitions 240of each Capability 1-N. The Traceability Scale 250 has also been updatedto reflect that the user is viewing the Goals level.

FIG. 2D depicts the next lower level of the eBVW, in particular, forOperational Resources (Resources) for Strategic Capability 1(Capability1) button selected on FIG. 2C. Again an associated description 240 foreach Operational Resource button, along with the buttons (i.e., Goal 1,Value 1, and Capability 1) that lead to this position in the hierarchyis provided. A user may easily move directly to any of the previouslevels by activating the displayed buttons (e.g., Goal 1, Value 1, andCapability 1). Dynamic links 220 are available as necessary and may evenbe tailored according to the Traceability Scale 250. That is, this levelmay have different dynamic links from the previous levels. Thehierarchical tree is maintained for the user's visual relationalcomprehension. The Traceability Scale 250 has also been updated with theproper level, i.e., Resources. At each level, a database download isavailable via button 260.

As can be seen by the exemplary Value Home Page of FIGS. 2A-2D, theinvention provides a hierarchical visual management tool to manage andupdate relational information within an enterprise in a controlledfashion. The relationship of the information is maintained in a databaseas additions and modifications are made so that the hierarchicalrelationship is accurately maintained at each level. Updates to thehierarchy are stored to a eBVW database dynamically as changes are made.A project scheduling package may be employed to relate the elements ofeach level to an enterprise schedule for tracking and managementpurposes.

When adding a new Strategic Capability under control of the inventionthe Requirements may be updated to ensure that a contribution isidentified for the added value when the new Strategic Capability isrequested. The Strategic Capability eventually may be implemented (e.g.,designed and developed) in proper fashion so that any OperationalResources used to provide the Strategic Capability are included withvalue in mind, as tracked and managed by the invention. Following designand development stages, under the umbrella controls of the invention,integration and testing may be conducted under a prototype environment,for example, in order to gauge the value the capability might contributetowards the Customer Vision through predicted metrics.

The eBVW may then be utilized to transition the Strategic Capabilityinto actual operations. The metrics provided by the invention enablesreal insight to the value that the new Strategic Capability may bring tothe enterprise when it is fully functional in an operationalenvironment.

The eBVW may also be incorporated into the Operations and Maintenance(O&M) processes to ensure the Strategic Capability may be sustainablewell into the future. Hence, the invention supplies comprehensivelifecycle management support by integrating multiple facets ofcomponents of the lifecycle into a unified cost/value/benefit managementtool.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing steps of embodiments of using theinvention. FIGS. 3 (and FIGS. 4 and 5) may equally represent ahigh-level block diagram of components of the invention implementing thesteps thereof. The steps of FIGS. 3-5 may be implemented on computerprogram code in combination with the appropriate hardware. This computerprogram code may be stored on storage media such as a diskette, harddisk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or tape, as well as a memory storage device orcollection of memory storage devices such as read- only memory (ROM) orrandom access memory (RAM). Additionally, the computer program code canbe transferred to a workstation over the Internet or some other type ofnetwork. FIGS. 3-5 may be substantially implemented via the GUI of FIGS.2A-2D and associated software, computer platform and databases.

The process and steps shown in FIG. 3 may provide for a service formanaging and planning an evolutionary change to an enterprise. This mayinclude any portion of a product or service such as, for example,hardware or software system or corresponding architecture and componentsthereof. Costs and resources can be projected to weigh alternatives orto evaluate one value/requirement over another in order to makedecisions and choices based on contributing factors such as, forexample, implementation costs, a revenue increase or cost saving.

There are four alternative starting points in the flow of FIG. 3: 300,305, 310, and 315. These entry points permit managing various enterpriseassets such as, for example, a new customer value, new technology, newworkforce skills, or new process. Beginning with starting point 300, atstep 320, there is a perceived need to provide a new value tostakeholders of an enterprise or operation. At step 325, a new CustomerValue is identified. At step 330, a verification occurs to determinethat the new Customer Value aligns with the enterprise goals. At step335, current Capabilities are evaluated to determine if currentCapabilities are sufficient for supporting the new Customer Value. Atstep 340, a decision is made whether the current Capabilities satisfythe Customer Value. If yes, then at step 345, the relationships betweenthe Capabilities and Customer Value are defined. If no, however, at step350, new Capabilities are identified to support and satisfy the newCustomer Value.

At step 370, a check is made whether available Resources satisfy the newCapabilities. If yes, then at step 375, the relationships betweenCapabilities and Resources are defined. If no, at step 380, newResources are identified to satisfy the newly identified Capability. Atstep 385, the relationship is defined between Capabilities and theResources. At step 390, new measures and metrics are established for theResources. Assignment of other weights may occur as well, particularlyif step 400 is not performed. At step 395, the Resources' contributionsto the Capability are each weighed or evaluated. At step 400, measuresare established for all elements including the Resources, if necessary,if not previously established in step 390. At step 405, weights areestablished for all elements compared to parent elements. This may be anassignment of a numeric value to each element within the eBVW hierarchy.The weights may be maintained by the eBVW software in the eBVW database.At step 410, Capabilities are evaluated based on the weights and if thepriorities are deemed correct proceeds with step 420, otherwise, at step415, a prioritization occurs of the Capabilities.

At step 420, a tradeoff analysis may be conducted to determineCapability implementation phases. For example, costs, time factors,benefits, etc. associated with each element are examined and tradeoffdecisions made. At step 425, an implementation schedule may be developedto forecast the timing, and decisions of the tradeoff analysis. At step430, a business case analysis on implementation phases may be conducted.This provides priorities of the tradeoff analysis and determines whichphases are implemented in what order, etc. A business case analysis maycompare alternatives at different levels of focus including the totalcost factors for portions or an entire proposed evolutionary change. Atstep 435, a decision is made to approve the business case. If not, thena re-prioritization is undertaken at step 415. If yes, then at step 440,an outcome-based performance metrics is assigned. At step 445, thecapabilities and resources are implemented and tracked based on metrics,such as, for example, costs and time, or other established targetedgoals. At step 450, the Capabilities and Resources are tracked based onthe metrics. At step 455, effectiveness to the enterprise stakeholdersis evaluated as necessary to assure compliance and awareness and toassure that the needs and expectations have met with the decisions ofthe business case analysis and implementation results. At step 460, theprocess may be repeated as necessary to continually manage and overseean enterprise operation.

Alternate entry at 305 provides for the recognition of new technology.At step 355, new technology is made available or recognized aspotentially available. The process continues at step 350 above.Alternate entry at step 310 deals with new workforce skills. At step360, new workforce skills are developed, acquired or recognized. Theprocess continues with step 350. Alternate entry at step 315 deals withnew processes. At step 365, new processes are developed, acquired orrecognized. The process then continues with step 380.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing steps of an embodiment of using theinvention beginning at 500. At step 505, at least one requirement isdefined for an enhancement to the enterprise architecture. Therequirement may be defined in response to a request by customer. Forexample, this may be an enhancement to a process, a feature, a hardwarearchitecture, a software architecture, or the like. At step 510, atleast one capability, which may be a current or new capability, isidentified to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture. Atstep 515, a revenue increase or a cost saving associated with the atleast one capability is estimated.

At step 520, a value is determined as provided by the at least onecapability based on implementation cost and revenue increase or costsaving. The value is typically denoted in monetary terms, but may be interms of strategic business worth, or the like. At step 525, the valueprovided by the capability is compared to a value provided by at leastone other capability and an optimum value is determined. At step 530, atleast one of a business process, personnel skill/competency, physicalentity, information technology, system component, and infrastructurecomponent is identified as a strategic resource. At step 535, at leastone strategic resource is identified to support the at least onecapability.

At step 540, weights are assigned to the strategic resources orcapabilities and prioritized based on such weights. At step 545, outcomebased performance metrics are assigned to strategic resources orcapabilities. At step 550, one or more strategic resources orcapabilities are implemented and are tracked based on performancemetrics. Performance metrics may be defined and tested through severalmanners including, for example, conducting facilitated working sessions,or by building simulation models for business Process or TechnologyResource Enablers. Estimates may be entered and recorded andsubsequently modified as additional real performance information isobserved. The process exits.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing steps of an embodiment of theinvention, starting at 600. At step 605, at least one goal isestablished which establishes an endpoint of an evolutionary change. Atstep 610, one or more values that define requirements of theevolutionary change are associated with the at least one goal. At step615, one or more strategic capabilities that represent functions thatmust be present to support the values are affiliated with the values. Atstep 620, one or more resources are identified that represent enterprisecomponents with the one or more strategic capabilities. The hierarchicalrelationships are maintained for the goals, values, capabilities, andresources for tracking and managing the evolutionary change.

At step 625, a review is performed to ensure that one or more valuesalign with the at least one goal. At step 630, relationships between thevalues and capabilities are defined. At step 635, relationships betweenthe capabilities and resources are defined. At step 640, strategiccapabilities affiliate and identify a new workforce capability or newtechnology capability with the one or more values. At step 645,resources identify and affiliate process, personnel skills/competencies,information technology, system component, or infrastructure component.

At step 650, a database is maintained reflecting the hierarchicalrelationship of the goal(s), value(s), strategic capabilities, andresource(s), as needed. At step 655, cost factors are determined foralternative evolutionary changes by choosing and comparing various setsof Goals, Values, Capabilities and/or Resources and weighing thebenefits. At step 660, cost factors are compared for more than onealternative evolutionary change. At step 665, the hierarchicalrelationships (i.e., goal, value, strategic capability, resource, etc.)are maintained in a database and the hierarchy is viewable andmodifiable via a GUI.

As thus discussed, the eBVW provides a comprehensive tool for managingenterprise operations for evolutionary or revolutionary (i.e.,incremental or transformational) change decisions. The enterprise, orportions thereof, may be represented in a hierarchical fashion bydefining the elements involved in the processes, capabilities andresources of the enterprise. Projecting the effects of an evolutionarychange may be accomplished by analyzing alternative choices for optimalbenefits.

While the invention has been described in terms of embodiments, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practicedwith modifications and in the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing and tracking changes in anorganization, the method comprising the steps of: providing a web basedapplication management tool implemented in a processor and operable toillustrate and quantify a value of transforming an enterprise businessmodel from a current “as-is” state to a proposed “to-be” state;capturing and displaying current resources of the organization and howthey relate to an organizations' mission in real-time; directly trackingwhich specific current resources directly support which currentcapabilities of the organization; defining at least one customerrequirement for an enhancement to an enterprise architecture of theorganization, wherein implementation of the enhancement transforms theenterprise business model to the proposed “to-be” state; evaluating thecurrent capabilities to determine whether at least one of the currentcapabilities is sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprisearchitecture; when at least one of the current capabilities is notsufficient to provide the enhancement, identifying at least one newcapability that is sufficient to provide the enhancement; determiningwhether at least one of the current resources of the organizationsatisfy the at least one new capability; when at least one of thecurrent resources satisfy the at least one new capability, defining arelationship with the web based application management tool between theat least one current resource and the at least one new capability,wherein the defining the relationship comprises: defining one or moremetrics to gauge performance for each of the at least one currentresource's contributions to the at least one new capability; andassigning weights to each of the at least one current resource'scontributions to the at least one new capability; estimating at leastone of a revenue increase and a cost saving associated withimplementation of the at least one new capability to provide theenhancement and achieve the proposed “to-be” state; determining a valueprovided by the at least one new capability based upon the defined oneor more metrics, the assigned weights for each of the at least onecurrent resource's contributions, an implementation cost,and the atleast one of the revenue increase and the cost saving; projecting analternative value based upon implementation cost and at least one ofrevenue increase and cost saving for at least one alternativecombination of at least one capability and at least one resource thatare sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprisearchitecture, wherein the alternative value is further based on one ormore metrics and assigned weights for the at least one resource'scontributions to the at least one capability; comparing a value of thecurrent “as-is” state of the enterprise business model to the value andthe alternative value of the proposed “to-be” state of the enterprisebusiness model for implementation of the enhancement to determine anoptimum qualitative value; choosing to stay with the current “as is”state, adopt the value of the proposed “to-be” state, or adopt thealternative value of the proposed “to-be” state based on which option isdetermined to provide the optimum qualitative value; using a database tostore a hierarchical relationship of a goal, the value of the current“as-is” state, the value of the proposed “to-be” state, the alternativevalue of the “to-be” state, the current capabilities, the at least onenew capability, current resources of the organization, and the at leastone of the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having aplurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ betweenthe plurality of levels; displaying the hierarchical relationshipbetween the goal, the values which are associated with the goal, thecurrent capabilities and the at least one new capability, whichrepresent critical functions for ensuring delivery of the values, andthe current and at least one current resource, which enable the currentcapabilities and the at least one new capability; capturing and linkingprocess measurements from one or more external modeling tools to thedatabase to allow process performance of the chosen current “as-is”state or proposed “to-be” state to be accessed by the system: andupdating the hierarchical relationship to include a hierarchicalrelationship between the at least one capability and the at least oneresource that comprise the option determined to provide the optimumqualitative value, wherein the determining the value and alternativevalue of the proposed “to-be” state comprises illustrating andquantifying the value of transforming the enterprise business model ofthe organization from the current “as-is” state to the proposed “to-be”state; and the goal is defined as a corporate directive establishing afinal end point of an enterprise change, the value and alternative valueof the proposed “to-be” state are defined as a customer value, the atleast one new capability is a strategic capability that representscritical functions that the organization must be capable of performingto insure delivery of the customer value, and the at least one currentresource is defined as a physical component that must be present andsupports the at least one new capability.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising the step of mapping the at least one customerrequirement to the at least one new capability.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the determining whether the at least one of the currentresources of the organization satisfy the at least one new capabilityincludes identifying the at least one of the current resources tosupport the at least one new capability.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the identifying the at least one new capability includesidentifying at least one of a business process, a personnelskill/competency, a physical entity, an information technology, a systemcomponent, and an infrastructure component.
 5. The method of claim 3,further comprising prioritizing each of the at least one currentresource based on the assigned weights.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the defined one or more metrics are outcome based performancemetrics to the at least one current resource.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising the step of implementing the at least one currentresource and tracking the at least one current resource based on theoutcome based performance metrics.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the steps of: assigning a weight to the at least one newcapability; and prioritizing the at least one new capability based onthe assigned weight.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: assigning outcome based performance metrics to the at leastone new capability; and implementing the at least one new capability andtracking the at least one new capability based on the outcome basedperformance metrics.
 10. A system comprising hardware and software formanaging and tracking changes in an organization, the system comprising:a web based application management tool operable to illustrate andquantify a value of transforming an enterprise business model from acurrent “as-is” state to a proposed “to-be” state, the web basedapplication management tool being configured to: capture and displaycurrent resources of the organization and how they relate to anorganizations' mission in real-time; directly track which specificcurrent resources directly support which current capabilities of theorganization; define at least one customer requirement for anenhancement to an enterprise architecture of the organization, whereinimplementation of the enhancement transforms the enterprise businessmodel to the proposed “to-be” state; evaluate the current capabilitiesto determine whether at least one of the current capabilities issufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture;when at least one of the current capabilities is not sufficient toprovide the enhancement, identify at least one new capability that issufficient to provide the enhancement; determine whether at least one ofthe current resources of the organization satisfy the at least one newcapability; when at least one of the current resources satisfy the atleast one new capability, define a relationship between the at least onecurrent resource and the at least one new capability, wherein thedefining the relationship comprises: defining one or more metrics togauge performance for each of the at least one current resource'scontributions to the at least one new capability; and assigning weightsto each of the at least one current resource's contributions to the atleast one new capability; estimate at least one of a revenue increaseand a cost saving associated with implantation of the at least one newcapability to provide the enhancement and achieve the proposed “to-be”state; determine a value provided by the at least one new capabilitybased upon the defined one or more metrics, the assigned weights foreach of the at least one current resource's contributions, theimplementation cost, and the at least one of a revenue increase and thecost saving; project an alternative value based upon implementation costand at least one of revenue increase and cost saving for at least onealternative combination of at least one capability and at least oneresource that are sufficient to provide the enhancement to theenterprise architecture, wherein the alternative value is further basedon one or more metrics and assigned weights for the at least oneresource's contributions to the at least one capability; compare a valueof the current “as-is” state of the enterprise business model to thevalue and the alternative value of the proposed “to-be” state of theenterprise business model for implementation of the enhancement todetermine an optimum qualitative value; and select the current “as is”state, the value of the proposed “to-be” state, or the alternative valueof the proposed “to-be” state based on which option is determined toprovide the optimum qualitative value; a database configured to store ahierarchical relationship of a goal, the value of the current “as-is”state, the value of the proposed “to-be” state, the alternative value ofthe “to-be” state, the current capabilities, the at least one newcapability, current resources of the organization, and the at least oneof the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having aplurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ betweenthe plurality of levels; and a graphic user interface (GUI) configuredto display the hierarchical relationship between the goal, the valueswhich are associated with the goal, the current capabilities and the atleast one new capability, which represent critical functions forensuring delivery of the values, and the current and at least onecurrent resource, which enable the current capabilities and the at leastone new capability, wherein the web based application management tool isfurther operable to: capture and link process measurements from one ormore external modeling tools to the database to allow processperformance of the chosen current “as-is” state or proposed “to-be”state to be accessed by the system; and update the hierarchicalrelationship to include a hierarchical relationship between the at leastone capability and the at least one resource that comprise the optiondetermined to provide the optimum qualitative value; the determining thevalue and alternative value of the proposed “to-be” state comprisesillustrating and quantifying the value of transforming the enterprisebusiness model of the organization from the current “as-is” state to theproposed “to-be” state; and the goal is defined as a corporate directiveestablishing a final end point of an enterprise change, the value andalternative value of the proposed “to-be” state are defined as acustomer value, the at least one new capability is a strategiccapability that represents critical functions that the organization mustbe capable of performing to insure delivery of the customer value, andthe at least one current resource is defined as a physical componentthat must be present and supports the at least one new capability. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the web based application managementtool is further configured to map the at least one customer requirementto the at least one new capability.
 12. The system of claim 10, whereinthe enterprise architecture includes at least one of a hardwarearchitecture and a software architecture.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the identifying the at least one new capability includesidentifying at least one of a business process, a personnelskill/competency, a physical entity, an information technology, a systemcomponent, and an infrastructure component.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the web based application management tool is further configuredto prioritize each of the at least one current resource based on theassigned weights.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the defined one ormore metrics are outcome based performance metrics to the at least onecurrent resource.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the web basedapplication management tool is further configured to track the at leastone current resource based on the outcome based performance metrics. 17.The system of claim 10, wherein the web based application managementtool is further configured to: assign a weight to the at least one newcapability; and prioritize the at least one new capability based on theassigned weight.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the web basedapplication management tool is further configured to assign outcomebased performance metrics to the at least one new capability.
 19. Acomputer program product usable for managing and tracking changes in anorganization and comprising a computer readable storage medium havingreadable program code embodied in the storage medium, the computerprogram product includes at least one component operable to: illustrateand quantify a value of transforming an enterprise business model from acurrent “as-is” state to a proposed “to-be” state; capture and displaycurrent resources of the organization and how they relate to anorganizations' mission in real-time; directly track which specificcurrent resources directly support which current capabilities of theorganization; define at least one customer requirement for anenhancement to an enterprise architecture of the organization, whereinimplementation of the enhancement transforms the enterprise businessmodel to the proposed “to-be” state; evaluate the current capabilitiesto determine whether at least one of the current capabilities issufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture;when at least one of the current capabilities is not sufficient toprovide the enhancement, identify at least one new capability that issufficient to provide the enhancement; determining whether at least oneof the current resources of the organization satisfy the at least onenew capability; when at least one of the current resources satisfy theat least one new capability, define a relationship between the at leastone current resource and the at least one new capability, wherein thedefining the relationship comprises: defining one or more metrics togauge performance for each of the at least one current resource'scontributions to the at least one new capability; and assigning weightsto each of the at least one current resource's contributions to the atleast one new capability; estimate at least one of a revenue increaseand a cost saving associated with implementation of the at least one newcapability to provide the enhancement and achieve the proposed “to-be”state; determine iteratively a qualitative value provided by the atleast one new capability for various options of the proposed “to-be”state of the enterprise business model comprising different combinationsof the at least one current resource based upon the defined one or moremetrics and the assigned weights for each of the at least one currentresource's contributions to the at least one new capability, theimplementation cost, and the at least one of a revenue increase and thecost saving; compare a qualitative value of the current “as-is” state ofthe enterprise business model to the determined qualitative values forvarious options of the proposed “to-be” state of the enterprise businessmodel for implementation of the enhancement to determine an optimumqualitative value; select the current “as is” state or one of theoptions of the various options of the proposed “to-be” state of theenterprise business model based on which option is determined to providethe optimum qualitative value; store in a database a hierarchicalrelationship of a goal, the qualitative value of the current “as-is”state, the qualitative values for the various options of the proposed“to-be” state, the current capabilities, the at least one newcapability, current resources of the organization, and the at least oneof the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having aplurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ betweenthe plurality of levels; capture and link process measurements from oneor more external modeling tools to the database to allow processperformance of the selected current “as-is” state or proposed “to-be”state to be accessed; updating the hierarchical relationship to includea hierarchical relationship between the at least one capability and theat least one resource that comprise the option determined to provide theoptimum qualitative value; and display on a graphic user interface (GUI)the hierarchical relationship between the goal, the values which areassociated with the goal, the current capabilities and the at least onenew capability, which represent critical functions for ensuring deliveryof the values, and the current and at least one current resource, whichenable the current capabilities and the at least one new capability,wherein the determining iteratively the qualitative values for thevarious options comprises illustrating and quantifying the qualitativevalue of transforming the enterprise business model of the organizationfrom the current “as-is” state to the proposed “to-be” state; and thegoal is defined as a corporate directive establishing a final end pointof an enterprise change, the qualitative values for the various optionsare defined as a customer value, the at least one new capability is astrategic capability that represents critical functions that theorganization must be capable of doing to insure delivery of the customervalue, and the at least one current resource is defined as a physicalcomponent that must be present and supports the at least one newcapability.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one customerrequirement is defined in response to a request by a customer.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the value is monetary or in terms ofstrategic business worth.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein thedefined one or more metrics are defined and tested by conductingfacilitated working sessions or building simulation models.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the estimates are at least one of entered,recorded, or modified as additional real performance information isobserved.
 24. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing atleast one organizational executive to track functionality and flag oneor more of the at least one new capability.
 25. The method of claim 8,further comprising using the assigned weights to make a decision basedon one or more of the implementation cost, the revenue increase, and thecost saving.
 26. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing auser with a plurality of dynamic links to operational elements of thesystem, the plurality of dynamic links structured to link a businessmodel vision, a transition plan, a strategic plan, a business process, abusiness case, the at least one new customer requirement, an operationalmodel, a functional model, a component model, and a lifecycle costing tothe system.
 27. The method of claim 1, further comprising storingupdates to the database dynamically as changes are made to thehierarchical relationship.
 28. The method of claim 1, further comprisingusing the system to transition the at least one new capability intoactual operations.
 29. The method of claim 28, further comprisingdetermining whether the at least one new capability supports andsatisfies the customer value.
 30. The method of claim 29, furthercomprising conducting a tradeoff analysis and a business case analysis,the tradeoff analysis being based on a cost, a time factor, and abenefit.